Missed Perceptions
by westwerk
Summary: One shots of missing scenes in companion to my story Forced Perception. Auror Harry Potter arrives in Dumbledore's seventh year at Hogwarts.
1. Memories

A/N: This collection of one-shots is a companion to my story Forced Perception. Most likely none of them will make sense unless you've read the story. Spoilers for that story are heavy, especially in this first chapter.

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**Memories**

Albus Dumbledore twitched his blackened hand. While it hadn't hurt in months, a dull ache began to form a few days before. Albus took that as foreboding, especially when he finally realized leads to where a Horcrux might be.

He knew he'd need help during the mission he was about to go on. He had already written a letter to Harry, but he hadn't sent it yet. The sooner he sent it, the sooner the bad things would begin.

Instead, he stared at it, rereading it and glancing up at the Sorting Hat. "Should I truly allow Harry Potter to come on my mission?" he said softly.

"As you have, Headmaster, I have looked into his mind, too," the Sorting Hat said. "He's braver than Godric Gryffindor himself."

Albus sighed, thinking about his conversation to Harry, how Albus had promised Harry could come on a Horcrux mission. Of course, Harry had to learn to learn how to find the Horcruxes on his own in the coming months. He needed to allow Harry to come.

He glanced at Fawkes on his perch, but just as he caught the bird's eye, Fawkes disappeared. He stared in confusion. "Odd," Albus said, standing. He surveyed the perch. "Is he angry with me?"

But a moment later, Fawkes reappeared. This time perched on the edge of his desk. An old, yellow bit of parchment was rolled in his mouth.

"What have you got there, Fawkes?" he said, petting his head and holding his hand out. Fawkes deposited the parchment in his hand and flew back to his perch.

The parchment was nimble, at least a hundred years old. Again odd. Who would send him parchment so old?

He unrolled it and began to read.

August 3, 1898

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

I'm about to go back. I'm leaving this with Flamel, who's charming this for the day before you die so you can read it and gain your memories of the year back. You have to know this.

I feel like I should have done more. In fact, I know I should have done more. I can't help but feel as if I'm doing you wrong for letting your mother and sister die. You know I can't change the future too much. I might have even changed it now. I have no idea since I'm not back in the right time yet.

I never meant to travel through time. I just fell into the time turners in the Ministry while I was chasing after Rodolpus Lestrange. I think I was meant to meet you again when I shouldn't have. You've been a little manipulative bastard this last year since I've arrived here, but if I had doubts before if you really loved me like Hermione said you did, I don't have any now.

Albus, before you die, I want to let you know that I forgive you for everything you've put me through my whole life. I'm starting off again the same day I left- September 6, 1998. I forgive you for your plans that practically made me a pig for slaughter. I lived through it and I'm happy. You've been a great friend this year that I've spent in the past. You've told me things I never thought I'd learn about you. I'm grateful for it.

In all honesty, I think you would have been one of my best friends if we had been teenagers at the same time. You seemed to care for me, even if I know for a fact that you were trying to get information out of me. You still seemed to care about what I said, even if it wasn't information you wanted.

Albus, thank you for being so open with me. I appreciate getting to know you more than I knew before. After you died, I felt betrayed, but I know you had the best intentions for me.

I guess you'll see me again, most likely in a few hours, as of you reading this. I won't see you again, but before I go, I'd like to just say that no matter what, you were right about love.

Harry Potter

Harry Potter?

Albus blinked and an energy forced it's way through his body. He shivered for a moment before memories began to play across his mind. He remembered finding a boy in the corridor, he remembered sitting in Merrythought's office making his Deluminator as Harry talked. He recalled Harry standing at the front of the room as Merrythought taught, felt his own sadness at learning Harry was leaving Hogwarts. He remembered the first time Harry appeared in Godric's Hollow, remembered their conversations in the front garden and in the meadows.

Even remembered that Harry Potter was in the kitchen on that horrible day when Ariana was killed.

Albus had to sit down.

How could he have forgotten all that? He'd always thought parts of his seventh year and the summer after were a blur, as if some parts of them were censored out, but he assumed the events of N.E.W.T levels and his mother and sister dying were to blame. He never expected, never thought it could be a memory charm.

Albus stood, grabbing both the letter and the letter to send to Harry. On the grounds, he handed the letter for Harry to Jimmy Peakes as he searched for a Gobstone he'd dropped.

"Thank you, Jimmy," he said before practically jogging to Hogmeade for The Hog's Head.

Aberforth was up in his sitting room, looking through that old journal Albus gave him on his fifteenth birthday. In fact, it was a shock to recall that Harry had accompanied him to buy it.

Albus handed Aberforth the letter. "What is it?" he said, squinting at it.

"Harry Potter sent it to me," Albus said, sitting in the other armchair. "One hundred years ago."

Aberforth's eyes widened and he grew pale. "I don't know anything."

"You do," Albus said, staring at him. "You remember everything. When did he time-travel?"

Aberforth shrugged, handing the letter back. "I believe he was 18 and an Auror."

"Ah," Albus said, leaning back and studying the document more. At least he survived for so long, enough to become an Auror. "And he was there when Ariana died?"

Aberforth glanced up at Ariana's portrait. He nodded. "He took my side, if you remember now. He hated Grindelwald just as much as I did, but I'm sure he knew about your past."

"Yes, I remember," Albus said, closing his eyes. Another memory seemed to come to him. As he kneeled next to Ariana's body, he recalled Harry allowing him to see into his mind. He'd been sitting in the exact room Albus was currently residing. Aberforth told Harry about what he'd thought of Grindelwald, how he'd left immediately after Ariana died, how he'd thought Albus was free of the burden of Ariana. Harry even mentioned the day Albus died and said that Albus was never free. The boy was correct, not his brother.

"It's true, Albus," Aberforth said.

Albus nodded. Nothing could be more true. His memories weren't betraying him in the slightest like they had for a hundred years when the memory charm was placed on him.

Albus stood heavily. What he was about to do was also a burden. "It's time, Aberforth," Albus said. "I need to retrieve Harry and allow him to finish this war."

"Do you really expect-" Aberforth began.

"I know your feelings about it," Albus said.

Albus stepped toward the door, the memories still playing rapidly in his mind. Strange how much one could forget. He glanced at Aberforth, who was looking around the edge of his chair at Albus. He turned away as soon as Albus caught his eye.

"Ab, I love you."

Aberforth jerked his head around again. His blue eyes, exactly like Albus's, seemed to gain a twinkle.

Albus closed his eyes, and then spun on his heel.

He guessed the saying was true. Right before death, a person's whole life really did flash before their eyes. It certainly was the case for Albus Dumbledore.

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A/N: First one-shot posted, yay! There will be others from the 1800s. If there's anything you'd like to see, tell me in the reviews/PM me and I'll try to write it.


	2. Secrets

A/N: Kitty Qin- A scene where Hermione finds out about Harry's 'trip.' I know I said in the very last sentence of Forced Perception that Harry told no one about the trip, but I seriously couldn't resist doing this. It came out so easily. I'll do your other scene request soon, too!

Also, I realized that I made a mistake after I finished writing this. Hermione's supposed to be attending Hogwarts, I think. But oh well. This is a what-if story of a what-if story, so I'll just make her attend Hogwarts when I continue to write ones set in the 1990s.

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**Secrets**

Hermione took pride in her knowledge, and when it came to her best friends, she knew everything about them.

She'd been around Harry and Ron for eight years, nearly half her life. She knew their quirks, knew how they'd react in almost any situation. Harry was head-strong and rushed into action without any sort of plan. He trusted his gut more than anything and always figured out a plan in the midst of the situation. He rarely told anyone anything, either, unless the person asked. He'd just wallow, try to hide that he was hurting, and remain quiet.

It was October when she and Harry were walking across the atrium in the Ministry of Magic.

"Oh, look, they've added the names to the memorial!" Hermione said, rushing forward to the fountain. Above them, a golden phoenix seemed to soar, wings out-stretched, a fierce gleam in its eyes.

Underneath the phoenix, a long list of names was carved into a golden scroll.

"There's Fred," Hermione said softly, placing a hand over her mouth as she stared at Fred Weasley (1978- 1998). Her eyes shifted to the left and immediately saw Remus Lupin (1960-1998) and Nymphadora Tonks Lupin (1973-1998). "And Remus, and Tonks."

Harry beside her, however, hadn't said a word as he gazed up at the memorial. Hermione glanced at him and saw how his eyes scanned the entire plate before fixing them to the left. Hermione tried to follow, but too many names from both wars were on the list. Much too many.

"Professor Dumbledore," Hermione muttered, finally realizing who was in that general direction. Indeed, Albus Dumbledore (1881-1997) stared back at her.

Harry looked away, then pointed toward other names. She noticed his hand shook. "There's Snape and my parents. And Sirius."

Hermione nodded, but she didn't look toward scroll again. She continued to look at Harry. His eyes shined behind his glasses, but Harry rarely cried. He just seemed to take everything as they came.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked.

He nodded, his eyes twitching straight back to Dumbledore's name before turning, his blue robe swishing behind him.

"Harry," Hermione said, jogging to catch up. She looked up at him, swearing that he'd grown at least two inches in early September. Not to mention that his jaw line seemed to fill out in the same amount of time. It was unnatural how fast he seemed to have grown. Mrs. Weasley had noticed, too, but Ron and George- the only two Weasley kids still living at the Borrow now- hadn't in their obliviousness of everything not related to the rebuilding of the British Ministry, Quidditch, and food.

Even more so, though, was the abrupt change in Harry's demeanor. She was sure he was less joyful than the rest of the Wizarding world since May, but he had every right to be the happiest person around. He was finally free of his burden of saving the world and killing Voldemort. But in reality, he seemed to have thrown himself into work as an Auror. He'd worked long hours over the summer, making sure that every Death Eater found themselves in custody.

Yet since September, he seemed less focused on that. He was more willing to talk to Ron and Hermione and even visited Hogwarts a few times to see Ginny. Hermione couldn't help but ask her how he'd acted while he was with her. Ginny sent a long letter explaining the various Saturdays he'd come by. They walked around the lake each time, but he'd hardly talked at all, only held her hand, mentioned work and how he missed Hogwarts. They visited with people, mostly McGonagall and Hagrid, before he'd go down to Hogsmeade.

Ginny said he seemed happier, more content, despite everything.

Hermione, who had spent more time with Harry, noticed the same, but she also thought something was up. His quiet contentedness (as Ginny deemed it) was too sudden.

"What's been going on with you?" Hermione asked as they entered the lift to go down to Magical Law Enforcement.

"What do you mean?" he asked, tilting his head at her.

"You just seem…" Hermione stopped herself. What was she supposed to say? He never took too kindly to her nagging, but she really was concerned.

"I'm fine, Hermione," he said.

"Ginny feels the same as I do."

That seemed to get his attention more. "Why?" He seemed genuinely confused.

"You know, I don't even know how to explain," she said. "I'm not sure how to read you right now. It's like… Well, it's like you're hiding something."

He stepped out of the lift and immediately dodged a letter flying by his head.

"Did something happen?" she asked, rushing to catch up with him. He was already halfway to the door to the Auror office.

"No," he said.

"I read the report from when you were chasing that Death Eater through the Department of Mysteries."

"What about it?" he asked, pushing open the office door, but Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the hallway. "What, Hermione?"

"It said you'd fallen into time turners," she said. "And then you appeared in the room with the Veil. How did you get from the Time Room to the Death Chamber?"

"Actually, I appeared at the Auror office," Harry said, leaning against the wall. "I ran back down and picked the wrong door."

"So, you didn't time travel?" Hermione said.

"No."

Hermione didn't believe him.

"How old are you?"

"19. Wait, why-" Then his eyes widened and he looked away as if realizing his mistake.

"You're 18, Harry," she said, narrowing her eyes at him until she realized the implications of what he said. She let her lips part and eyes widen at the revelation. He couldn't have! No! But- "You were gone for a year! That's why you suddenly looked older. Harry! Where did you go?"

He sighed, looking up and down the hallway, then he grabbed her wrist and directed her to the broom closet across the hall. Hermione was too shocked to do anything as he cast a silencing charm around and then said, "Lumos." She watched his face light up.

"Never tell anyone, all right?" Harry said. "Only Aberforth and Elphias Doge know."

"Where, Harry?" she said, her hands immediately going to her hips.

"1898," he said, still avoiding her gaze. "Dumbledore was 17."

"You met Dumbledore while he was in school?" she asked, shock filling her whole head. That was impossible- Well, it was possible, but it was insane. "Are you actually serious?"

He nodded.

Hermione stared.

Then, she exploded. "Harry! You better have not messed with anything! That's really, really dangerous! You could have changed-"

"Hermione," Harry said, cutting her off. She glared fiercely at him. "Everything's exactly how I remember, all right? I don't think anything was changed from the past."

"But you still interacted and- Wait, did he know you were from the future? Please tell me he didn't!"

Harry cringed. "It was bloody Dumbledore, Hermione. You couldn't hide much from him. Anyway, Flamel put a memory charm on him. He didn't know I was there until the day he died."

"And how do you know that?" she asked, her hands squarely on her hips and her foot tapping in fury.

"I've spoken to his brother," Harry said.

"Aberforth remembers?" Hermione said. She groaned, wondering if that was a good idea. While she hadn't seen him but once since the Battle of Hogwarts, she still found him… well… odder than anybody she'd met before. And she'd met a lot of strange people in the Wizarding world. It was worsened by the fact that she looked up his records and found a horrifically detailed description of what he'd done to a certain goat about 50 years before. Not to mention at Harry's birthday when he hexed Elphias Doge over a plate of goat cheese. "Harry-"

"He can be trusted," Harry said. "He's loyal to Albus, even if he doesn't want to admit it."

Hermione couldn't help put raise her eyebrows in disapproval. He knew how she felt about Aberforth, especially over the last month when Harry would come home to the Borrow smelling of alcohol, but seemed to have not drunk any himself. Hermione finally managed to get him to say he'd been speaking with Aberforth. She told him that he shouldn't. Aberforth had made it clear that he didn't want to talk about his brother anymore, but there was Harry, just barging in.

"It's not like we're in the middle of war, anymore," Harry said. "I just spent year with him. He had an opportunity to turn me in as a time-traveler to the Ministry, but he didn't."

Hermione weighed that in her mind. "What exactly did you do while you were there? Did you stay at Hogwarts?"

He nodded and then began telling her about his time as Merrythought and Flamel's assistant. She stared blankly at him as he mentioned becoming friends with Albus Dumbledore, even managing to convince Dumbledore that Grindelwald was not a good person to be around. He told her how he'd met some Potters. One of which could possibly have been his grandfather or great-grandfather. He said he'd spent time in Godric's Hollow, watching over the Dumbledores. He even witnessed Kendra and Ariana Dumbledore's deaths.

Some part of Hermione's thoughts couldn't believe it. The adventure seemed too fantastic and fascinating to be real, but she knew it had to be. Harry wouldn't lie. He had come back looking a whole year older, even. He had to be telling the truth.

When he finished talking, he glanced down at his watch. "We're late for work. Ron's probably even beat us in."

Hermione nodded as Harry took the spells he'd cast off the walls. Hermione wanted to reply in some way, but she was utterly lost for words.

Throughout the day, she spotted him several times across the Auror office. Once he was laughing with Ron, another time he was busy working on a report, and the last time he ran out of the office with Ron and Neville about a Death Eater spotting.

She didn't get to talk to him again until that night when he was alone in Bill's old room. She hadn't even meant to stop by, just noticed the light still on and she knocked softly on the door.

He let her in and she found him sitting cross-legged on the bed, jeans and sweater still on. An album rested in his lap.

"What's that?" Hermione asked, looking over his shoulder.

"You want proof, right?" Harry asked, handing her the album.

She looked down at it in her hands. The cover was old and smelled musty like it had been hidden in an attic somewhere. She flipped to the first page and saw the picture of Harry and Dumbledore standing together in a potions lab. Fawkes preened his wings on Dumbledore's shoulder. Harry looked on as Dumbledore showed him a gadget that look surprisingly like Ron's Deluminator.

"Wow," Hermione said as she flipped through more of the pages. Harry was in all of them and most seemed to be in the same place. Harry with Dumbledore, Harry with a woman in her 30s wearing men's pants (she suspected that was quite scandalous back then), Harry with an older man showing him how to brew a potion, Harry scratching an owl's neck… They were all in black and white and clearly on the type of photography plates used back then.

"Where were these taken?" Hermione asked, flipping back to the first one with Harry and Dumbledore.

"Flamel's," he said.

She nodded, remembering how he said he'd lived there in between his talks with people and going back and forth to Godric's Hollow.

Although Hermione disapproved of the trip immensely, she still was much too curious about it. He hadn't meant to go, she figured. She couldn't place blame on him.

Instead, she chose to listen to what he had to say.

Later that night, Hermione fished her Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore book from a pile of books she needed to sort and began to fill in the blanks to Rita Skeeter's awful recount of his life.

From what Harry said, some parts were true, some parts were not.

She was at least grateful that he told her what was going on. Much better than hiding the truth away in silence.


End file.
